The first 2012 presidential debate will be held tonight! Here’s all the info you need to be the best debate watcher you can be:

The Basics

The debate, which will be held at University of Denver, will be moderated by Jim Lehrer, Host of NewsHour on PBS. It begins at 9:00 EST and will be broadcast on ABC, C-SPAN, CBS, FOX, and NBC. It will also be available on some cable news channels, including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. (Basically, if you turn on your TV, you’ll probably see the debate.)

Tonight’s topic is “domestic policy.” The debate is slated to last for 90 minutes.

No TV? No Problem!

Several sources will be live streaming the debate online. Click here for Mashable’s list of 8 virtual places to find the debate!

Hashtag It!

Want to tweet about the debate? Excellent! Then you’ll probably want to use a hashtag. Lots of debate tags are sure to be flying around tonight, but Twitter representative @marksluckie has announced that the official hashtag for tonight’s debate (and, presumably, all upcoming 2012 debates) is #debates.

Check the Facts

Candidates say a lot of things during debates. Some things are true, and some things just aren’t. How do you separate fact from fiction? With the help of PolitiFact.com! They have several channels developed to help you keep tabs on the truth in real time. Check out their real-time fact checking options here!

Read Up on Social Media Politics

Tonight’s debate is bound to be all the buzz on the social networks. But what sort of impact will social media actually play in the 2012 election? Check out “When the Candidates Speak,” part one of the Gremln Blog’s exploration into social media politics!